Refinery expansion project finished safely

Mobil’s Altona Refinery has completed its multi-million-dollar expansion less than 12 months after the project was announced.

Called the Pre-Flash Project, it involved upgrading part of an existing crude unit to add a pre-distillation step in the refinery’s process that increases the production of much needed diesel and jet fuel while enhancing energy efficiency. The project was completed safely, on time, within budget.

This increases the refinery’s overall production from 80,000 to 90,000 barrels per day and enhances its energy efficiency and environmental performance through the recovery of an additional three megawatts of waste heat.

ExxonMobil’s new manager of refining for Australia and New Zealand, Riccardo Cavallo, congratulated the refinery for its excellent project execution.

“We have a highly-skilled team at Altona and it is very good at leveraging ExxonMobil’s technological advantage to improve our competitive performance,” he said. “This project is an excellent example of this. It improves our efficiency and increases both our feedstock flexibility and our product flexibility, allowing us to maximise production to meet growing demand.”

Richard Owen, chair of ExxonMobil Australia, said the company was committed to investing in projects that generated superior value for the company and the community.

“The refinery’s continuing focus on operations integrity and improving efficiency, while identifying strategic investments that leverage the competitive advantage of our integrated oil and gas business, has helped to maintain its position as one of the most competitive refineries in the world,” he said.

The refinery is a key asset in ExxonMobil’s Australian integrated energy investment portfolio.

A recent study commissioned by the company found that the refinery’s current operation contributed AU$270 million to the Victorian economy each year.